curl-6 said: Nah, as a centrist I feel like this take mostly comes from the fact that with society so polarized, at least in America, people tend to instantly lump you in with the "other side" if you don't entirely align with their views. "You're either with me or you're my enemy" basically. Granted there will always be bad faith actors who will use it as a smokescreen, they do exist, but don't make the mistake of assuming this is the case. Believe it or not, there are people who genuinely find both sides too extreme. |
To be clear about a few things.
I didn't say "that's what centrism means" or "every centrist is actually a right winger" or anything quite as definitive as that. 99% is a bit of an exaggeration, but it's a frequent problem. Either in calling themselves centrist and yet not actually believing an centrist viewpoints or they'll deride both sides, while strongly advocating for a particular side.
This isn't to say there aren't centrists or anything like that. But I think frequently actual centrists don't actually call themselves "centrist".
There's a difference between someone using the label and someone actually being that thing.
Why do you think of yourself as a centrist? What do left and right wing mean to you?